Abstract
An emerging concept is that cancers strongly depend on both internal and external signals for growth and invasion. In this review, we will discuss pathological and physical changes in the tumor microenvironment and how these changes can be exploited to design gold nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and therapy. These intrinsic changes include extracellular and intracellular pH, extracellular matrix enzymes, and glutathione concentration. External stimuli include the application of laser, ultrasound and X-ray. The biology behind these changes and the chemistry behind the responding mechanisms to these changes are reviewed. Examples of recent in vitro and in vivo studies are also presented, and the clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Highlights
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have long been studied for their potential in facilitating anticancer therapy
Human induced pluripotent stem cells with C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) have been used to load Au nanorods@SiO2@CXCR4 to achieve better tumor target migration, with CXCR4 used to increase loading [84]. This AuNP-iPS platform preserved the photothermal properties of the Au nanorods and inhibited the growth of human gastric cancer MGC-803 tumors in a xenograft model
The results showed that laser irradiation on AuNPs lowered the high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) cavitation pressure to as low as 0.92 MPa, compared to 4.50 MPa without the presence of the laser
Summary
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have long been studied for their potential in facilitating anticancer therapy. We review stimuli-responsive AuNPs that can be activated either intrinsically or extrinsically. The diversity in the design of AuNPs and their stimulus-responsiveness makes them promising multifunctional nanoplatforms. We review the most commonly used stimuli in cancer research and examine how AuNPs have been developed and studied as a multifunctional nanoplatform for cancer theranostics (Scheme 1). Intrinsic stimuli are micro-environmental differences that occur either pathologically or physiologically (Scheme 1). They include pH, extracellular matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and glutathione (GSH) that regulate the intracellular redox condition. This section covers the pathological and physiological causes of changes in the tumor microenvironment, the rationale and hypothesis underlying the design of each AuNP, and, briefly, the results of these studies and their. Enhancement and sensitization of X-ray radiation by AuNP is reviewed
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